Now that Hertz Car Rental is using artificial intelligence (AI) to track any dings, dents, scratches and more that customers inflict on rental vehicles, customers are incurring large charges for damages invisible to the naked eye. Some said they’re seeing bills worth hundreds of dollars.
Hertz partners with AI company
Hertz announced their partnership with UVeye in April, calling UVeye a global leader in AI-driven vehicle inspections. Hertz said with this new technology, they can enhance all facets of vehicle inspections and improve transparency for customers.
“With millions of customers and over 100 years of service around the world, we’re continually focused on transforming every aspect of our company and that includes how we maintain our vehicles,” Mike Moore, EVP Technical Operations at Hertz, said in an April statement. “We are excited to partner with UVeye to bring efficiency and greater accuracy to our maintenance process, so we can focus on our vehicles being ready when and where our customers want them.”
The company originally rolled out the new tech at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta. It’s now in use at five other airports, according to a report from the New York Times, including Dallas, Newark, Charlotte, Phoenix and Houston.
Customer pushback
The Times report says the new AI system automatically creates and sends damage reports without a human ever looking at them. An employee will only review the report if a customer flags an issue.
When customers receive a bill for alleged damage, they are charged to fix the issue, along with administrative fees, which can be expensive.
One Reddit user detailed how an alleged ding ended up with a $195 bill.
“I will no longer be using Hertz. Reached out to customer service and they said they stand by the AI,” that customer said.
Several other comments on that thread shared similar sentiments. Another report spoke to a customer who says he was charged $440 for a scuff on the wheel.
Many factors can cause dents and scratches, some of which are beyond the driver’s control, including road debris and adverse weather conditions. But Hertz and UVeye are moving forward with the tech’s implementation.
“Hertz is setting a new standard for vehicle maintenance and fleet management in the rental industry, and we’re thrilled to partner with them,” Amir Hever, CEO and Co-Founder of UVeye, said in a statement. “Our AI-driven inspection systems complement manual checks with consistent, data-backed assessments completed in seconds.”
Hertz in debt
The new method of finding and charging for vehicle damage comes as the company faces more than $6 billion in debt, according to Bloomberg. That report also indicates that Hertz is seeking to raise $500 million through additional debt or equity offerings.
The company was badly hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic and filed for bankruptcy in May 2020. They managed to get out of that bankruptcy thanks to Knighthead Capital Management and Certares Management, which injected $5.9 billion into the company. Hertz reported revenue of $9 billion for 2024 with a net loss of $2.9 billion.
